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Today

This post is from 2011. It is just as true for me today as it was the day I wrote it. Many things have changed in my life since then: the deaths of my husband, mother, and brother - and most recently, my cancer diagnosis. But, today is still the only day I have in which to live. I pray the post, though a revisit for some, will bless you … today.

Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11, NIV)

Did you know that the word “today” appears over 200 times in the Bible. While we must take our past and our future into account, “today” is where we live.

It can be hard to live in the moment.

If it is a painful moment, we want it to pass quickly. If it is a good moment, we want to hold on to it, yet that moment soon belongs to the past.

For those of us with chronic conditions, it can be hard to stay in today. We may look longingly back to our past and wish we were able to be the people we were then. We may look anxiously to our future, wondering what will happen next - or how we will survive the coming days.

God asks us to look to now.

In Psalms He says,

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert,”

God gives us choices. We can make a decision as to how we will live today. Will we worship our God, or will we quarrel (the meaning of the name Meribah) or rebel at the testing of our faith (Massah means testing).

Will we look to Him for our needs for today? Will we, today, view Him as our Shepherd who will care for us? Will we turn away complaining about our current challenges?

For me, today the sun is shining so my body doesn’t hurt. I know I will be challenged by the winter time when it comes, but for today - I can spend time in the sunlight.

Today, everyone in our family is home and I can enjoy them. Today, my husband is in initial remission from his cancer. I am blessed. Today is a good day for me. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but I must trust Him to get me through the bad “todays” as well as the good ones.

“This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Simply because it is today.

Father God, I praise and thank you for today. I know for many readers today may be a difficult day. I pray you will grant them either deliverance or endurance. For those who are having a good day, I pray you will help them to see Your hand. Help each to know that You are here for them today. Amen and Amen. So be it, Lord!